Authorities Bracing Up For Landslide Recurrence in Colorado

In an interview, Jonathan White, a Colorado Geological Survey geologist at the site, told reporters on Tuesday that a second possible landslide seems inevitable because of an upsurge of water in a depression created by the previous slide. White also said ‘‘we’re having a significant amount of runoff that’s flowing into that depression right now and that’s indeed a big concern.’’ White asserted it is tough to predict when the second landslide would occur. “It could be years from now,” he said.

From American Live Wire




As you can see from the photo runoff from the snow melt is pooling up in a depression behind the ridge. creating a significant pond up there. Grand Junction hit 92 degrees Wednesday s all that snow is melting off fast Fast FAST---

Now if that's not bad enough they say we can expect rain here over the next three days. so the ridge is getting a double whammy!

So the experts are now saying another slide---possible as big as the first is imminent---likely to happen in the next few days. their actually hoping it happens sooner rather than later so that the water doesn't have time to become lake sized before the mountain shakes it all lose again.

You need salt, moisture, and energy to liquify the earth. A vibration can feed the energy part, so can energy from wind or lightning or even heavy raindrops pounding the earth. Currents are naturally present in many places on this planet, these natural electromagnetic hotspots are probably more apt to have landslides. This same thing happens for avalanches. Stored energy is released by a shock wave.

originally posted by: rickymouse
You need salt, moisture, and energy to liquify the earth. A vibration can feed the energy part, so can energy from wind or lightning or even heavy raindrops pounding the earth. Currents are naturally present in many places on this planet, these natural electromagnetic hotspots are probably more apt to have landslides. This same thing happens for avalanches. Stored energy is released by a shock wave.

Oh we have salt... lots of salt.
this is oil country--- know how they know where to look for oil deposits... they look for the salt domes.
Geologically speaking the Rockies are still growing so there's always some movement. then of course gravity is full effect... so now all we can do is wait and see.

a reply to: HardCorps

When you frack the earth, the fracking breaks the bonds which creates energy from the breaking bonds. This released energy of the bonds furthers the cracking of the rock or shale. The energy used to frack is way less than the energy released by the event. It is sort of a perpetual event.

So fracking is in the area can actually add to the problem.

a reply to: rickymouse

Good point, but there's no fracing going on up there...
they are one of the many communities that banned franking in their county here in CO.

Besides even if someone did frac a well nearby ... all our wells are deep--- 14,000 feet +- ---
they pump from the Frontier formation here ---more than 2 miles down. My dad worked on a drilling crew back in the 80's and right there on the CO WY border they drilled one well down to 24,000 feet... you should see his pictures of that monster rig!

It's not like TX or OK where their wells can be a shallow as only a few hundred feet. the places where fracing is causing trouble.

a reply to: HardCorps

So this wouldn't be related to any fracking then. Is there any blasting at any mines around there? When the mine blasts here at 12:30, the house shakes. Three years ago, the foundation cracked when they blasted, sounded like a shotgun going off. It only shakes like that when they blast a big rock plate of Dolomite, it must run right under our land.

a reply to: rickymouse

I couldn't tell ya about blasting or anything else going on over there...
I mean from a global perspective I live 101 miles from the site of this landslide.
But from a looking my backdoor perspective is almost like on another planet.

I must have driven past there like a million times going to and coming back from Denver ?
I just don't remember ever stopping there for anything?